The present invention relates to shaped organo-functional polysiloxanes, with one or more functional or non-functional siloxane units, which have the applicational and technical advantages of a macroscopic spherical shape and, unlike organosiloxanamine copolycondensates already described (DE 39 25 359 corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/556,486 filed on Jul. 24, 1990, DE 39 25 360 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,451 which is incorporated by reference; DE 38 37 416 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,413 which is incorporated by reference; and DE 38 37 418 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,024 which is incorporated by reference), do not contain components of the NR.sub.3 (with R=R'--SiO.sub.3/2) type.
The present invention also relates to processes for the preparation of the new products in particle sizes which are ideal for the application being considered and with the currently appropriate physical properties and to applications for these novel materials.
An unshaped polymeric organosiloxane powder or organosiloxane gels, which are obtainable by precipitation with a base (e.g., ammonia) are known and these are mechanically crushed after hardening and are available as particulate materials.
Use of the corresponding polysiloxanes, for example in stirred reactors, is connected with a considerable amount of friction and associated technical problems. Accessibility of organic functions on and in the polysiloxane structure is very poor due to unfavorable porosity or a lack of porosity.
Spherical organosiloxanes or silica gels are also known with particle sizes, however, in the region of a few micrometers. (Kawaguchi, T., and K. Oho, J. Non-Cryst. Solids (1990), volume 121, pages 383-388; Espinard, P., J. E. Mark, and A. Guyot, Polym. Bull. (Berlin)(1990), volume 24, pages 173-179; Jap. Kokai Tokkyo Koho/02225328 A 2). In this case, the fundamental methods of preparation are based on precipitation of siloxanes. Larger spherical particles could not be produced using this method, mainly due to process restrictions. As a standard feature, the particles size achieved is in the range from 1 to at most 10 micrometers.
Known (but not previously published) are methods for the preparation of metal-containing organosiloxanamine copolycondensates in the form of spherical particles with a diameter of 0.01 to 3.0 mm (DE-PS 41 10 705 corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/860,715 filed on Apr. 1, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,514, which is incorporated by reference). In the case of these products, the organosilanamine fulfills the task of a subsequent stabilizing siloxane component, and also of a catalyst for the hydrolysis and polycondensation reaction.
Known formed, spherical, polymeric metal complexes of iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, lrhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and/or platinum are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,134. The process of producing such complexes involves the reaction of hydrous or anhydrous compounds of iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and/or platinum with the components of the organosiloxane (e.g., the phosphene); in the examples the hydrous or anhydrous metal compounds are always initially reacted with the phosphene compound. Thus, the metals are inherently distributed uniformly throughout the particles.